Cassie’s Ruminations

Sweet Sticky Spicy Chicken

The recipe for Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Chicken from Allrecipes has been making the rounds on a message board that I frequent, and it’s become a staple of quite a few of my friends. I made a few changes, of course. First, I used skinless boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts. I followed the recommendations of my friend Cristan to marinate the chicken in pineapple juice for the day and to lightly coat the pieces in cornstarch before cooking. I also cooked the sauce separately, as I wanted to add the pineapple juice from the marinade and wanted to make sure that I cooked it thoroughly. Next time I might try a recommendation from another friend, Michelle, and toast up some szechuan peppercorns just before adding the sauce.

I enjoyed this, but next time I think I’ll just skip the cornstarch breading and thicken the sauce with a tablespoon of cornstarch when I cook it on the stove. Shaun thought the flavors were quite intense, though that might be the upset stomach talking, but I might dilute the sauce with a bit of chicken broth or sake next time anyway.

Sweet Sticky Spicy Chicken
Serves 4

6 fl oz pineapple juice (1 small can)
1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)
½ cup cornstarch
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Put the chicken and pineapple juice in a large zip top bag and allow to marinate for about 8 hours. When ready to cook, drain the chicken well, pouring the juice into a saucepan. Add the brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and hot sauce to the pineapple juice and stir to combine well. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.

In another zip top bag, mix together the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, shaking free any excess cornstarch, and brown on all sides, cooking through. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Serve with rice.